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People mention tips because a) they wanna list preferred tips (like bells, nmts, extra diy, etc) or b) just to say that they aren't opposed to tips. Like I'm sure they feel happy regardless cuz they are helping others, but receiving a little something might just make them feel a little bit more appreciated, which is a nice feeling. I think people are just reading too much into the intention of the host.. it says tips optional so take it as it is. You don't need to tip. They are not bad mouthing you or making people feel horrible. Honestly if they were just greedy people who only cared about your tips, and not the "helping the community" aspect of it, then they would just charge you an entry fee and be done with it. There is no ulterior motive just cuz they mentioned optional tips.
Thanks for this. I had my first time with good turnip prices and posted my first giveaway. Free entry and tips not necessary but appreciated and honestly was wondering if I was being a jerk because of this thread after feeling good about helping out some fellow players. I did mean that tips weren’t necessary, 100% for real, but I also very much appreciate the tips people left me.
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I think a good example for this is a donation box at a cash register. You're there for something, they know you have money on you and they mention that a donation would be appreciated. Wouldn't you feel awkward leaving without putting something in the donation box while someone is staring you hoping you leave something? There's no bad intention here, but you do get a little bit pressured by the circumstances.
Nope. I budget how and where to spend my charity donations and don’t let people pressure me into giving more money than I’ve already allocated. I turn down charity muggers (the clipboard people who hang out in touristy spots or even ring the doorbell of my apartment and those donation things at grocery stores that go in the windows, too, and those people ask and don’t just stare.
 
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I always say it's not necessary but appreciated, and here's why: I like tips! I enjoy getting stuff, however, I am also willing to give away some services/goods for free. It's no pressure, I don't judge non-tippers, but I want to clarify that people aren't needing to pay to enter and mentioning it is the best way to do so. At the same time, I don't want to discourage tipping. Basically, by saying that, I'm being as straightforward as I can by saying things are free but if you want to give me a tip, you can.
 
I've hosted quite a few times and I've never required a tip. I usually give a few examples of what I'm looking for, but if someone gives me something else they're giving it to me for free so I appreciate everything people drop off at my airport - big or small. Recently I've asked for random furniture and there have been people that give me 4 and people that give me none. At the end of the day, I don't really mind either way. Even if you came and dropped literally anything else as a tip, I'd be happy!

When I visit others, I almost always tip at least 20k if I have the bells on me, which is almost always. Either that or something from their wishlist. I think putting a wishlist up when you're hosting is great for showing your visitors what would be most useful, because you don't lose anything by bringing a furniture from your storage to let them catalog. The only time I specifically remember not tipping 20k or a wishlist item when I could have is when I visited someone that said no tips required and then asked for a tip in game. I still gave them a 10k though.
 
i dont see any problem in someone who's opening their island up for no set fee to say tips are appreciated. i say this in my own posts because i know everyone is at a different point in the game. i dont expect anyone to be able to afford fees equally, that's why i set it as just a tips appreciated. that way people can bring bells, nmt, extra diys, flowers, fruit, furniture, pocket link, literally whatever they have and are comfortably able to do, or nothing at all.

i used to not include a "tips appreciated but not necessary" line in my posts but I once opened my island for 2 hours, sacrificing part of my afternoon and 2 hours of playtime to stand by the gate, and for an entire hour of that time waited on three people who said they would come and went immediately afk. once they all came 45 min to an hour later, they all left without leaving so much as a fruit. and that's more offensive to me than saying "tips appreciated but not necessary," as i cant imagine being that rude and inconsiderate about someones time and leaving without so much as a gesture as a thank you....

i think for me it's less about the material things people bring and more about the gesture of a thank you to someone who's kindly agreed to completely pause their playtime for hours at a time just to let strangers in for no set price. for some people, like me, doing so is also really anxiety inducing, so gestures of thanks really mean a lot, no matter what they are. i've had someone drop 3 of my native fruit LOL and it's not a big deal to me, it was them saying thank you, and that's what i appreciate ^^ even just one person dropping a couple fruits makes me feel nice and appreciated.

of course, i dont think its in good taste to call someone out or be mean to someone for not tipping. but i dont think its in good taste to call people out for saying they appreciate tips for opening their island up for you for no set fee either.
 
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If someone is giving away something for free, I always feel like I should do the same back! That said, it's just more my personality than anything they said or did. If someone makes me happy, I wanna make them happy back!
 
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Yeah, it's unnecessary, and when that phrase is used, it works psychologically as a form of "compulsory incentive".

Everyone who played or at least read about Bioshock knows the phrase "Would you Kindly".

"Would you kindly" is a phrase that was programmed to function as a trigger for the post-hypnotic suggestions programmed into the mind of Jack. The system was created by Dr. Yi Suchong and was used by Frank Fontaine, posing as Atlas, to control Jack's actions while guiding him through Rapture to achieve his plans for killing Andrew Ryan."

There's a whole semantic problem with this as well. Tips, by definition, are never necessary, otherwise they would be a fee. So saying that is just stating the obvious (water is wet). Everybody appreciates kind gestures and receiving gifts - and technically, this is exactly what a tip is. So it's also unnecessary to state that "tips are appreciated" because they always are.

The only thing that one could feel the need to state in this case is if they absolutely don't want any kind of compensation, tip, gift, whatever, and then, they state something along the lines of "Free entry, don't give me tips or anything else". This could be seen as a necessary thing to state because a lot of people do have an habit to leave tips, a statement like that would serve the purpose of stopping people from doing something they could do spontaneously.

There's no mental gymnastics that can explain this differently.
 
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Yeah, it's unnecessary, and when that phrase is used, it works psychologically as a form of "compulsory inventive".

Everyone who played or at least read about Bioshock knows the phrase "Would you Kindly".

"Would you kindly" is a phrase that was programmed to function as a trigger for the post-hypnotic suggestions programmed into the mind of Jack. The system was created by Dr. Yi Suchong and was used by Frank Fontaine, posing as Atlas, to control Jack's actions while guiding him through Rapture to achieve his plans for killing Andrew Ryan."

There's a whole semantic problem with this as well. Tips, by definition, are never necessary, otherwise they would be a fee. So saying that is just stating the obvious (water is wet). Everybody appreciates kind gestures and receiving gifts - and technically, this is exactly what a tip is. So it's also unnecessary to state that "tips are appreciated" because they always are.

The only thing that one could feel the need to state in this case is if they absolutely don't want any kind of compensation, tip, gift, whatever, and then, they state something along the lines of "Free entry, don't give me tips or anything else". This could be seen as a necessary thing to state because a lot of people do have an habit to leave tips, a statement like that would serve the purpose of stopping people from doing something they could do spontaneously.

There's no mental gymnastics that can explain this differently.
Great post! You’ve explained everything well and that’s what I was trying to say. That it doesn’t need to be stated.
 
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I personally mention something like this because, to my knowledge, it's automatically assumed that people should tip (especially during the New Leaf days where it was only IGB, not both IGB and NMT, so now people either ask for one or the other or both). So, if I say, "tipping isn't necessary, but appreciated", I'm just trying to let you know that it really isn't a big deal if you tip me or not, but if you do, I appreciate it because you really didn't have to / went out of your way to still tip me and I know not everyone can tip sometimes so I'm just trying to help those out in need.
 
I personally mention something like this because, to my knowledge, it's automatically assumed that people should tip (especially during the New Leaf days where it was only IGB, not both IGB and NMT, so now people either ask for one or the other or both). So, if I say, "tipping isn't necessary, but appreciated", I'm just trying to let you know that it really isn't a big deal if you tip me or not, but if you do, I appreciate it because you really didn't have to / went out of your way to still tip me and I know not everyone can tip sometimes so I'm just trying to help those out in need.
Do you see how both these statements contradict one another on a cultural level?

By using the "tips aren't necessary but always appreciated", one is reinforcing the first statement, that it's assumed that people should always tip. More than that, it's reinforcing a cultural behavior that people are trying to solidify. This becomes the accepted norm, the expected etiquette, and when you're part of a community, it's expected that you follow it's etiquette and unwritten rules.
 
I give tips. I'm not giving NMTs or star fragments or gold nuggets because as a non-TTer, those are rarer even for me. I tend to either give wishlist items, IGB, hybrids, or a combination of the three. I gave several stacks of common materials once too (wood, iron nuggets, stone) when someone specifically asked for that as a tip. I wouldn't give common materials as a tip unless that's specifically requested though, since I'd prefer to give something a little bit nicer.

The person is using their time to let you do something for free, so I think it's nice to do something for them.
 
Now that I touched on the subject of the thread on a non-personal level, let me say how I tackle these situations:

I always state that it's free to enter and that you don't need to tip. I've sometimes said "don't tip", even if I can understand that someone feels pressured to tip because the comm has created this behavior and expectancy on people.

Most of the time in AC, I'm giving more than I'm taking. This is part of what makes AC fun for me. If I'm opening my island for people to get a diy, talk to Celeste or any other thing, I'm doing that because helping these people is what I like to do. Knowing that I could be helpful to others, that's my reward. I'm not offering a service, I'm lending them a hand, doing a favor.

I often approach people here through PMs offering things I saw they saying they were looking after. If it just one or two things, I just give these away to them. If it's a lot of items, or someone I'm using, I at least tell them to come and catalog what they want. I've been approached by other members who did the same for me. This is the true spirit of the game, it's the basis where AC was created: share things, help others, grow together.

I often leave tips because giving things to to other people is how I play the game. However I always talk about it first, because if someone says "I don't want tips" I will respect their position, as I understand where they coming from.
 
I take part in a few lowkey communities that discourage tipping. I never charge for anything myself, and personally don't tip when I visit people in those communities. If I'm on Reddit or some random Discord server then I'll usually tip out of obligation. I wish it wasn't a necessity, but it does seem rather expected now. There have been multiple times where someone has said "tips appreciated but not necessary" and then posted a rant later on complaining that nobody tipped even though they kept their island open for hours.
 
I always tip regardless if it's free entry. I only don't tip if there is a fee or if I the deal I stuck was particularly good or something I've really wanted and have been searching for a while, then I happily give more than asked
 
As someone that has been on both sides of the trade (receiving and giving) it doesn't bother me all that much. Just don't feel pressured to tip largely, especially when the service is free? Sometimes when I'm grabbing a DIY from someone's villager I'll tip 10k on the way out, or maybe plant a few hybrids. I just do it to show them appreciation given the fact that they've opened their gates to large amounts of people and have to repeatedly go through the dreaded airport cutscene for hours (looking at you, turnip traders).
 
I always tip, doesn't matter if it's optional. I think if a person is kind enough to donate their time in letting me visit their island, I want to at least repay them in some way (in this case, tips).
 
I honestly don't know how else to put the list of specific things I appreciate as a tip without feeling like I'm pressuring others. "Tips are not necessary, if you feel like tipping, here's a list of things I'd love to catalog. It's no biggie though, just visit me please, I like helping others." Would that work? Should I just put my wishlist in my signature and those that want to tip that way will see it and automatically know?

I don't feel pressured in tipping others, as I like giving anyways, it's asking for specific stuff as a tip without making it seem like I need to be tipped is what pressures me the most. :'^]

I opened my island earlier to let people come by to shop at my Nook's Cranny as it was selling Books. I just bite the bullet and said it straight forward. Many of them did end up tipping me in the way of letting me catalog their items which I'm very grateful for, I do hope that none of them felt pressured into tipping me though, I'd rather them do what they feel most comfortable to do, whether it's tipping one way or another or not tipping at all.
 
I usually tip regardless if people are looking for tips or not since it's time-consuming to host a lot of people on your island with all the cutscenes. I just avoid islands with higher entry fees so I can avoid being pressured into overpaying. Most people have reasonable tips and IMO it's the loud minority that can be overwhelming and put pressure on you.

Remember there's a ton of people who pay AC and many of those people have hearts bigger than I can imagine!
 
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